- Article
- Open access
- Published:
Scientific Reports , Article number: (2025) Cite this article
We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.
Subjects
Abstract
Photothermal therapy (PTT) using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) offers a promising platform for targeted cancer treatment due to its minimally invasive nature and potential for spatial precision. However, achieving selective cytotoxicity while preserving healthy tissue remains a critical challenge. In this study, we developed a biocompatible photothermal platform using bovine serum albumin-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs@BSA) to selectively induce apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The successful synthesis and surface modification of AuNPs were confirmed through UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential analysis. The results of FTIR confirmed functionalization of AuNPs by BSA and zeta potential results showed that after binding BSA to gold nanospheres, the amount of surface charge decreases, which is a confirmation of the successful binding of BSA to nanospheres. Under optimized conditions (5 min laser irradiation), the AuNPs@BSA, despite a high biocompatibility (IC50 ~ 800 µg/mL), induced a profound oxidative stress. This was evidenced by a significant reduction in total antioxidant capacity and the activity of key antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT). This oxidative insult directly led to characteristic apoptotic events: chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, and ultimately, apoptotic cell death as confirmed by flow cytometry. Our results establish that laser-irradiated AuNPs@BSA induce oxidative stress, leading to membrane damage, metabolic disruption, and ultimately, caspase-dependent apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Future studies should explore its in vivo efficacy and long-term safety to advance clinical translation.
Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
-
Dreaden, E. C. et al. The golden age: Gold nanoparticles for biomedicine. Chem. Soc. Rev. 41, 2740–2779. https://doi.org/10.1039/C1CS15237H (2012).
-
Ghosh, P., Han, G., De, M. & Rotello, V. M. Gold nanoparticles in delivery applications. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 60, 1307–1315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2008.03.016 (2008).
-
Sperling, R. A. & Parak, W. J. Surface modification, functionalization, and bioconjugation of colloidal inorganic nanoparticles. Philos. Trans. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 28, 1333–1383. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2009.0273 (2010).
-
Wang, J. et al. Multi-environment and multi-parameter screening of stability and coating efficiency of gold nanoparticle bioconjugates in application media. Sci. Rep. 14, 31568. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-73624-0 (2024).
-
Zhang, L. et al. Synthesis of gold nanorods and their functionalization with bovine serum albumin for optical hyperthermia. J. Biomed. Nanotechnol. 10, 1440–1449. https://doi.org/10.1166/jbn.2014.1932 (2014).
-
Scaletti, F. et al. Tuning the interactions of PEG-coated gold nanorods with BSA and model proteins through insertion of amino or carboxylate groups. J. Inorg. Biochem. 150, 120–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2015.04.016 (2015).
-
Turkevich, J., Stevenson, P. C. & Hillier, J. A study of the nucleation and growth processes in the synthesis of colloidal gold. Discuss. Faraday Soc. 11, 55–75. https://doi.org/10.1039/DF9511100055 (1951).
-
Gul, M. et al. Various methods of synthesis and applications of gold-based nanomaterials: A detailed review. Cryst. Growth Des. 25, 2227–2266. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01687 (2025).
-
Huang, X. & El-Sayed, M. Gold nanoparticles: Optical properties and implementations in cancer diagnosis and photothermal therapy. J. Adv. Res. 2, 409–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jare.2010.02.002 (2011).
-
Taheri-Ledari, R. et al. Plasmonic photothermal release of docetaxel by gold nanoparticles incorporated onto halloysite nanotubes with conjugated 2D8-E3 antibodies for selective cancer therapy. J. Nanobiotechnol. 19, 239. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-021-00982-6 (2021).
-
Alkilany, A. M. & Murphy, C. J. Toxicity and cellular uptake of gold nanoparticles: What we have learned so far?. J. Nanopart. Res. 12, 2313–2333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-010-9911-8 (2010).
-
Jahangiri-Manesh, A. et al. Gold nanorods for drug and gene delivery: An overview of recent advancements. Pharmaceutics 14, 664. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14030664 (2022).
-
Sharaf, O. Z. et al. Thermal stability and plasmonic photothermal conversion of surface-modified solar nanofluids: Comparing prolonged and cyclic thermal treatments. Energy Convers. Manage. 244, 114463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114463 (2021).
-
Kharazian, B. et al. Bare surface of gold nanoparticle induces inflammation through unfolding of plasma fibrinogen. Sci. Rep. 8, 12557. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-30915-7 (2018).
-
Ozcicek, I., Aysit, N., Cakici, C. & Aydeger, A. The effects of surface functionality and size of gold nanoparticles on neuronal toxicity, apoptosis, ROS production and cellular/suborgan biodistribution. Mater. Sci. Eng. C 128, 112308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msec.2021.112308 (2021).
-
Chen, X., Zhao, X. & Wang, G. Review on marine carbohydrate-based gold nanoparticles represented by alginate and chitosan for biomedical application. Carbohydr. Polym. 244, 116311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.116311 (2020).
-
Hameed, M. et al. Protein-coated aryl modified gold nanoparticles for cellular uptake study by osteosarcoma cancer cells. Langmuir 36, 11765–11775. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c01443 (2020).
-
Appelqvist, I. A. M., Cooke, D., Gidley, M. J. & Lane, S. J. Thermal properties of polysaccharides at low moisture: An endothermic melting process and water-carbohydrate interactions. Carbohyd. Polym. 20, 291–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/0144-8617(93)90102-A (1993).
-
Kim, T. D. et al. Thermal behavior of proteins: Heat-resistant proteins and their heat-induced secondary structural changes. Biochemistry 39, 14839–14846. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi001441y (2000).
-
Yuwen, P. et al. Albumin and surgical site infection risk in orthopaedics: a meta-analysis. BMC Surg. 17, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12893-016-0186-6 (2017).
-
Tianimoghadam, S. & Salabat, A. A microemulsion method for preparation of thiol-functionalized gold nanoparticles. Particuology 37, 33–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2017.05.007 (2018).
-
Salabat, A. & Mirhoseini, F. A novel and simple microemulsion method for synthesis of biocompatible functionalized gold nanoparticles. J. Mol. Liq. 268, 849–853. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2018.07.112 (2018).
-
Martinez, J. C., Chequer, N. A., Gonzáles, J. L. & Cordova, T. Alternative methodology for gold nanoparticles diameter characterization using PCA technique and UV-vis spectrophotometry. Nanosci. Nanotech. 2, 184–189. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.nn.20120206.06 (2013).
-
Huang, P., Li, Z., Hu, H. & Cui, D. Synthesis and characterization of bovine serum albumin-conjugated copper sulfide nanocomposites. J. Nanomater. 2010, 641545. https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/641545 (2010).
-
Abdelhamid, S. et al. Laser-induced modifications of gold nanoparticles and their cytotoxic effect. J. Biomed. Optics 17, 068001. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.17.6.068001 (2012).
-
Kocianova, E., Piatrikova, V. & Golias, T. Revisiting the Warburg effect with focus on lactate. Cancers 14, 6028. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers14246028 (2022).
-
Parikh, S. et al. Diagnosis and management of mitochondrial disease: A consensus statement from the mitochondrial medicine society. Genet. Med. 17, 689–701. https://doi.org/10.1038/gim.2014.177 (2015).
-
Johannsmeier, S. et al. Gold nanoparticle-mediated laser stimulation induces a complex stress response in neuronal cells. Sci. Rep. 8, 6533. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24908-9 (2018).
-
Wu, Y. et al. Gold nanorod photothermal therapy alters cell junctions and actin network in inhibiting cancer cell collective migration. ACS Nano 12, 9279–9290. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b04128 (2018).
-
Mas-Bargues, C. et al. Lipid peroxidation as measured by chromatographic determination of malondialdehyde. Human plasma reference values in health and disease. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 709, 108941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2021.108941 (2021).
-
Villalpando-Rodriguez, G. E. & Gibson, S. B. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulates different types of cell death by acting as a rheostat. Oxid. Med. Cell Longev. 2021, 9912436. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9912436 (2021).
-
Nguyen, V. K. et al. Gold nanoparticle-enhanced production of reactive oxygen species for radiotherapy and phototherapy. Nanomaterials 15, 317. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15040317 (2025).
-
Maddah, A. et al. Gold nanoparticles induce apoptosis in HCT-116 colon cancer cell line. Mol. Biol. Rep. 49, 7863–7871. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-022-07616-6 (2022).
-
Kari, S. et al. Programmed cell death detection methods: a systematic review and a categorical comparison. Apoptosis 27, 482–508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-022-01735-y (2022).
-
Lopes, J. et al. Combination of gold nanoparticles with near-infrared light as an alternative approach for melanoma management. Int. J. Pharm. 668, 124952. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124952 (2025).
-
Shen, S., Shao, Y. & Li, C. Different types of cell death and their shift in shaping disease. Cell Death Discov. 9, 284. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-023-01581-0 (2023).
-
Baharara, J. et al. Induction of apoptosis by green synthesized gold nanoparticles through activation of caspase-3 and 9 in human cervical cancer cells. Avicenna J. Med. Biotechnol. 8, 75–83 (2016) (PMC4842245).
-
Irani, S. et al. Induction of growth arrest in colorectal cancer cells by cold plasma and gold nanoparticles. Arch. Med. Sci. 11, 1286–1295. https://doi.org/10.5114/aoms.2015.48221 (2015).
Acknowledgements
The financial support from Arak University Research Council is gratefully acknowledged.
Funding
This research work was supported by ongoing institutional funding. No additional grants to carry out or direct this particular research were obtained.
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Salabat, A., Abnosi, M.H. & Talebian, M.M. Mechanistic approach to laser-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in breast cancer cells using BSA-functionalized gold nanoparticles. Sci Rep (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29820-7
-
Received:
-
Accepted:
-
Published:
-
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-29820-7
